The Vulgar Tongue - fashionable slang

Background

The Vulgar Tongue was published in 1859. This is the report of a lecture complaining that young men have been using slang to appear more fashionable, manly and stylish. The speaker believes that this vocabulary is connected with sport.

He presents slang as a threat to genuine English examples of London slang used between 1839 and 1859. Some of the slang vocabulary has lasted until the present day.

Taken from: The Vulgar TongueAuthor / Creator: Ducange AnglicusPublisher: Bernard QuaritchDate: 1859Copyright: By permission of the British Library BoardShelfmark: 12983.b.15